She was beautiful, intelligent, quick-witted and highly talented. Gabrielle Réju, known as Réjane, was, along with Sarah Bernhardt, the most famous actress of the late nineteenth, early twentieth century, a queen of the boulevard. Her greatest successes she had in contemporary plays by such authors as Meilhac, Sardou, Bernstein and Bataille. Her modern way of representation, described as »Nerve art« by contemporaries, left critics speechless. Réjane gave guest performances in London and New York. Many famous men admired and desired her. Marcel Proust was a friend of hers and a guest in her house for quite some time. But unlike her friend and rival Sarah Bernhardt Réjane (they both ran their own theater in Paris) today has fallen into oblivion. It is time to dedicate a coffee-table book to her. Added to this book is a knowledgeable essay by French writer François Baudot. It assembles scene photographs and studio portraits by famous contemporaries such as Paul Nadar and Charles Reutlinger. The book calls to mind a woman who personifies like no-one else »La Parisienne« and the days of La Belle Epoque. The photographs, documents of early theater and studio photography, are similar to fashion photographs of later years. They show the versatility, the joy of life and the attraction of this extraordinary actress. Whatever pose she takes up, whatever sumptuous robe she wears, the light smile that plays about her lips seem to inform the viewer at any moment that something is being directed here. Réjane always remains totally herself – modern, self-assured, seductive and unapproachable at the same time.